


I Loved You Yesterday

by cacaonibss



Category: La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, F/M, First Love, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Mixed Emotions, Mystery, Romance, Sentimental, a bit of slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:14:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28271484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cacaonibss/pseuds/cacaonibss
Summary: Sergio Marquina has just been recently entrusted to handle a colossal project by the leading architectural company in all of Spain. Being the lead architect, he decides to hire a personal assistant to make things more manageable. He could have sworn that he hasn't met her even once in all his thirty years of existence, but what he doesn't know is that she was just keeping her mouth shut.To him, she was just his personal assistant.To her, he was so much more than a boss.Serquel AU. Multichapter.***ON HIATUS***
Relationships: Raquel Murillo/Professor | Sergio Marquina
Comments: 24
Kudos: 71





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello serquel nation! This is my first time writing a fic so please bear with me. This year has been pretty rough which is why I'm utterly grateful to have been part of this fandom, reading fics and all that. It really helped me cope with some internal battles and external stressors I have been experiencing for the past months. Anyway, I decided to create this fic in hopes of creating a bubble that would brighten your lives in the same way the others here have brightened mine. I want to be able to improve my writing as well since I still am a beginner at this aspect.
> 
> I hope you enjoy :)

**_Twelve years ago_ **

_Upon picking up his cousin’s urgent call, Sergio was not able to think straight. He hurriedly rummaged through the wooden drawers by the foot of his bed and picked up everything he needed. He did not even bother to pack his clothes anymore as his time was very limited - every second of it was precious._

_“Sergio, why are you being so loud at…2 am in the morning?” Marseille, his new roommate squinted his eyes while checking his fully bright phone, alerted by the sudden shifting movements below him._

_“It’s an emergency. I don’t think I can return before classes start.”_

_It was their first day in university the next day and he sure had been excited during the whole summer but right now, nothing matters anymore._

_The look on his face wasn’t something Marseille had seen before. Sergio was panic-stricken, his brows were furrowed and his eyes reflected full desperation. He wanted to ask if there was anything he could do to help but before he could even muster another word, Sergio was gone._

_Running his hands through his dark locks, there was only one thing on his mind. He needed to get to Valencia. Now._

_He didn’t notice that he was already practically sprinting on the way to the parking lot when he almost slipped on an uneven surface. He cursed deeply and reached for his car keys in his back pocket as he saw his red sedan in view. As the engine was brought to life, Sergio went well on his way._

_…_

_In a dimly-lit room just a few kilometres away from Sergio’s dorm, Raquel couldn’t bring herself to sleep as she was still busy smiling like a fool. Just a few hours ago, Sergio had managed to sneak in through her bedroom window to bring her her favorite strawberry ice cream and a movie._

_Well, they didn’t end up watching the movie._

_They were more fond of kissing each other and whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ears. One thing led to another and after two months of being officially together, they finally made love. It was not entirely what Raquel had expected as they were both inexperienced but she shall treasure the freshly made memory forever because it was with a man that she knew she wanted to never stop making memories with._

_“Te amo, Raquel.” His words still resonated in her ears as it instantly brought warmth to her little beating heart. As she slowly drifted to sleep, she hugged her pillow even tighter as a small smile crept upon her face._

_Never would she have ever imagined that it would be the first and last time she’d hear those words from the love of her life._

* * *

“Raquel”

She heard a familiar voice and groaned loudly, her body staying still under the soft sheets of her warm bed. _Wait what time is it?_

Just when she thought she had overslept again, she found out that it was actually the opposite. 

“Raquellllll”, the voice from outside said once again and this time, with five subtle knocks.

“Yes, yes I’m coming”, she shouted. Her eyes were still closed as she reluctantly got out of the covers and adjusted her feet to put on her house slippers. On her way to her bedroom door, she finally opened her eyes.

“Who let you in at this hour and why?” Raquel asked with a perplexed look on her face.

“Uh… your mom?”

Alicia Sierra strutted in liked she owned the place. Well in some way, she did, as she always have ever since they were ten. She was Raquel’s first friend when they moved to Madrid from País Vasco. Being the sweet shy girl she was, she didn’t even think she would be able to make friends in a new city, so she was really thankful that she ended up being next-door neighbours with Alicia. If there were anyone else besides her mother who knew her best, it would most definitely be this redhead.

After her father died in a car accident, their previous business did not work out as well as it used to. Her mother Marivi then decided that it may be best for their family to move somewhere else where they could start a business.

“Oh” was all she could muster as her mind was still too groggy from her three-hour sleep. For the past few nights, she’d been having trouble sleeping for some reason. Ever since she dreamt about _him_ once again in a long time, she had been scared to fall asleep. It just awakened a part of her soul that had been put to slumber for months, and she didn’t like how it felt. Not even one bit.

Alicia was wearing a white turtleneck paired with long black skinny jeans that showed off her long legs, accompanied by red heels and a small silver bag. She has always adored her best friend’s choice in clothing. No matter the event, she always looked like she had just stepped out of a Vogue magazine shoot. She then walked towards her and smiled while giving her a big warm hug and a “good morning”.

“Anyway, why are you here and…so early?” Raquel asked, turning her head towards her alarm clock by the side of her bed.

After sticking out the cherry red lollipop out of her mouth, her best friend gave her a huge grin and sat comfortably on the edge of her queen sized bed.

“I got you a lunch date and it’s today! I swear, he’s perfect for you… he’s really-“

She wasn’t even able to finish her sentence when she got interrupted by a very annoyed and disappointed Raquel.

“What? Alicia no, how could you? I said I’m _not_ interested in going out with anybody right now.”

“That’s also what you said ages ago, Raquellll…”

“I’m not going” she shook her head firmly and laid back in bed, wrapping herself up once again in her cream colored sheets.

“What? No, just this once please. I swear, you’ll like him.”

“Alicia…. It’s like you don’t even know me at all.”

Actually, she _did_ know her all too well not to know what exactly the problem was – no wait, _who_ it was for the matter. She still remembered that cold autumn morning like it was yesterday. How could she forget? The horrific sound of Raquel’s cries were still fresh in her memory, her tears falling and falling on her wool sweater. She couldn’t have done anything else except hug her for comfort since she did not know the exact words to say. _No one did_.

“Raquel, you know I just want you to be happy. And seeing you still remain the same as you did twelve years ago… well it just breaks my heart. I just want you to know that it’s not too late to go back in there. Who knows? Perhaps, the right man for you is just around the corner, no?” she tried to encourage her, but she could really see the sadness in her eyes and it made her heart ache.

“I really do appreciate your concern, but I still don’t think it’s time. Besides, my priority is Hanoi right now” she said calmy.

“Right… I still can’t believe how far your family business has come” she gave her a proud smile.

Exactly a year ago, the tiny coffee shop that Hanoi once was finally got to expand into a medium-sized restaurant with two floors. Now they were open to serving a huge variety of dishes as they hired more chefs, servers, bartenders, and other staff. Just recently, they even have been catering to different kinds of events such as weddings, family gatherings, birthday parties, and the like. Reminiscing about the humble beginnings of their small cozy coffee shop, Raquel still couldn’t believe it either. During her adolescent years as well as her college years, she had been helping out a lot on different tasks such as waitressing and taking turns with her sister behind the register. Right after she graduated, she began to become more involved in the business and became Hanoi’s restaurant manager. Everybody who worked there was considered family and even though she was already the restaurant manager now, she still treated everybody like they were her equals. She loved all of them. In fact, they did play a huge role in Hanoi’s success.

“Oh right, speaking of Hanoi, our catering service is booked for an event tonight”, Raquel chirped.

“Wow, another one? That’s really great to hear, Raquel! People really _do_ have great taste” Alicia chuckled while nodding approvingly. “Where is it this time?” she asked curiously, tilting her head.

“Hmm… it’s a private event in Arkiglobal, Inc _._ I’m not quite sure what the event is about though. _”_

Alicia let out a low whistle. “ _Joder_ , I heard that’s one of the best architectural firms in the country!” she said with wide eyes.

Raquel laughed at her reaction and nodded in agreement. “Yes, I’m aware”

“Oh my!” Alicia gasped all of a sudden. “What if you’ll meet _someone_?” she said as her eyes glistened.

Raquel just responded with a laugh while shaking her head at how silly her best friend was being. “That is the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. You think my life is a movie, no?”

She smiled a small smile. “Just… Raquel if you meet someone nice and decent, don’t close your doors. There are much better things in store for you, _mi amor_.”

“Fine fine, yes I will try”, she promised even though she was a hundred percent sure that she would not meet anyone tonight. She wouldn’t want to meet anyone tonight – not now, not ever. Eversince she lost Sergio, she found it so difficult to move on from him. Was it because of the unanswered questions that had been clouding her mind ever since? Or perhaps something just didn’t feel right about the whole thing. Her thoughts were interrupted when Alicia spoke again.

“Anyway, I better get back home. German is picking me up today” Alicia said nonchalantly and proceeded towards her direction to give her a hug saying goodbye.

Alicia works at a creative digital media company as a journalist and German was also a fellow journalist himself. They have been classmates during college but it wasn’t until they worked at the same company where they actually started hanging out with each other. She immediately got the job the same time Raquel started professionally working at Hanoi. She has always loved writing ever since they entered high school and there has never been a school year where she did not volunteer to be part of the school paper’s writing organization. Though she had a lot on her hands, she had never failed to make time for Raquel to talk about everything and nothing.

“I’m sorry, is there something I’m unaware of?” she asked teasingly as they broke out of their hug while raising her eyebrows.

“Oh, please” she just scoffed and rolled her eyes but after a few seconds, she said “Well, I don’t know… He’s really nice but I don’t want to assume things” and shrugged her shoulders.

On her way to the door, she turned around one more time, cleared her throat and said, “So your date will pick you up at 11 am sharp, don’t-“

She was interrupted by a pillow that suddenly hit her face but she caught it before it fell to the floor. “Alicia, _por favor”,_ Raquel rolled her eyes with fake annoyance.

“ _Vale, vale._ I was just kidding, Raquel”, she said while laughing and carefully tossing the pillow back to her and sticking her almost finished lollipop back into her mouth.

…

“You take care, _cariño_. Call me if anything happens, okay?”, Marivi said as she wrapped her daughter in a tight warm hug outside their restaurant.

The kitchen staff have been preparing for tonight’s event since noon time and they had just finished putting all the needed materials and equipment into their two large white vans parked right outside the restaurant. The event tonight was going to be formal, but a very private one for only less than a hundred and fifty people. Knowing that there were many other catering services in the city that were much larger and farther in progress than Hanoi, it couldn’t help but warm Raquel’s little heart that they were handpicked for this important event.

“Yes, mama. You too”, Raquel responded as she gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Are you going home anytime soon?”

“I think I’ll stay here for a while. There’s nothing much to do at home anyway”, she responded with a light chuckle, the lines on her face becoming more visible.

Raquel nodded and she was about to say something else when somebody hugged her from behind. She didn’t have to look to know that it was her friend, Monica Gaztambide.

Monica had first worked at Hanoi as a sous chef when she was twenty. Seven years later, she had now become Hanoi’s assistant manager and one of Raquel’s closest friends. Aside from Alicia, many memories of friendship were made with Monica too, as they would always be telling each other stories about the little things going on in their lives during their shifts at Hanoi. She had been there even before Raquel met Sergio, so she _was_ able to witness how the two of them came to be acquaintances with one another, to friends, and then eventually inseparable lovers who only had eyes for each other.

“Gosh, I’m so excited!”, she exclaimed to them both. Her curly blonde hair was neatly tied up in a ponytail and she was wearing a similar outfit as Raquel – a plain black buttoned up cotton blouse with sleeves that extended to her elbows with fitting black slacks and black close heels.

Raquel laughed at her friend as Marivi smiled at them both and headed back inside. “Yeah, for some reason, I am too.”

“Let’s check if we have everything we need, then perhaps we can go”, she added while looking around. Along with both of them, several waiters and waitresses would be accompanying them as well as the drivers for the van. They were all dressed in white long sleeves with black bowties and black slacks and closed shoes.

Raquel checked the things in the first van composed of holding cabinets, chafing dishes, food pan carriers, hot food tables and accessories, catering carts, service trays, ice beverage bins, and insulated beverage carriers. In the second van behind her, Monica double checked the other things they needed such as punch bowls, table top and buffet displays, food and drink fountains, plates and utensils, and of course, the food and drinks. They gave each other a thumbs up signalling that they were through rechecking the catering equipment for the event and after a few minutes, they were off to Arkiglobal located right in the middle of the city.

As she looked through the window of the passenger’s seat, she couldn’t help but think of the many memories she and Sergio had made in this city. Almost everywhere she looked, it was almost as if she could still feel his presence. Suddenly, Alicia’s words re-entered her mind.

… _don’t close your doors. There are much better things in store for you, mi amor._

She just heaved a heavy sigh and pushed _those_ thoughts to the back of her mind.

“Are you okay, Raquel?” the driver, Mirko, asked curiously as he looked at her in a sideways glance.

“Ah, yes yes, I’m alright, Mirko. Just reminiscing about the memories I’ve had in this city over the years”, she said truthfully with a closed smile.

She tried her best not to think of _him,_ but she just couldn’t help imagine him by her side. How far would they have come if that tragedy didn’t happen? She’ll never know.

…

On the other side of the city, Alicia was riding in the passenger’s seat of German’s white hatchback. It was past 7:00pm, their day at work had just ended and although it was somewhat spontaneous, she had agreed to go to dinner and watch a movie with him. _As friends,_ she repeated countless times through her mind. Alicia grew up without a father since he left her and her mother for another woman in a faraway country she couldn’t even remember the name of. Ever since then, she did not want to open herself up to any other personal relationships aside from her friendship with Raquel. 

While she was scrolling through her Instagram feed, her face suddenly shifted into a look of disgust as photos of her cousin, Tatiana, appeared. _Damn, why was she flooding so much._ Alicia rolled her eyes at her cousin’s pictures. Selfie after selfie, showing off her branded clothing, bags, shoes – practically everything. Since she had married that famous architect in Barcelona, _Anton-something, or was it Andrew-something_ , she had turned into such a show-off. She couldn’t help but scoff at her cousin’s actions. German just looked at her curiously.

Alicia didn’t want to keep scrolling and sliding @tatiana.df ‘s photos to the left, but out of curiosity she did anyway. _What is she up to these days huh?_ Her jaw dropped when she saw the tiny location above each of the pictures.

_Madrid, Spain_

“Noooo way”, she said aloud in a panicky voice.

“Is everything okay?”, German asked curiously, giving her a side-glance.

“Uhm yes yes, everything is _fine._ I just found out that my cousin is here and by here I mean Madrid”, she said trying to sound calm but obviously failing.

“And you don’t seem too happy about that because…” he asked amusedly while trailing off.

“This means family reunions and I hate family reunions, German”

As she slided more photos to the left, she scanned the last photo. It was different from her other posts since this one seemed like a group picture. It was set in a fancy restaurant and among the people were Tatiana, her husband – _An-something_ –, her two little innocent twins, and the rest were some people she had never seen before. They were all wearing formal attires like they have been attending a business meeting. She scanned each of them with a bored look on her face, until her gaze fell upon someone _familiar._

Her breath hitched in her throat and her face became as pale as a ghost’s at the sight of _him._

_No it couldn’t be. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be. What the hell is this?!_

She almost dropped her phone after witnessing what she just saw. She blinked repeatedly, thinking that her vision must have been playing with her. She took deep breaths as she fearfully looked back at the picture. Unfortunately, it still remained the same with _him_ at the right corner, seated comfortably and smiling confidently. All she could do was stare with her eyes wide as saucers and mouth hanging open almost reaching the bottom of the passenger’s seat.

She did not know what to feel. Her mind was suddenly filled with tons of questions as to why _Sergio Marquina_ was in that picture. She couldn’t be mistaken. It was most definitely _him_. Has he been lying to all of them all these years?

When she thought that things could not get any worse than this, her eyes shifted to the caption.

_Thank you, everyone!! Thank you, @arkiglobal.inc_ _#newdeal #partners #visionarchitecture #arkiglobal #madrid_

There was just too much to take in that she had to pinch herself to realize that this wasn’t all a dream. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, then it dawned on her…

Arkiglobal. Partners. The event.

 _Shit. Raquel_.

…

After thirty minutes or so, they had finally arrived at the venue. As soon as they walked right into the huge glass doors of Arkiglobal’s building, they all gasped in awe as to how much more beautiful the interiors looked compared to the simple exterior design of smoked glass and steel monoliths. It was almost as if they had entered another realm. Being an expertise firm and probably the best in Spain, it wasn’t surprising at all that their _home_ looked relatively grandiose and picturesque. In several directions were large spacious offices which contained groups of people seen through clear glass windows. Most of them were working on their monitors while others were having group presentations and discussions regarding new innovations and ideas for their corresponding projects. Located at both sides were wide marble elegant staircases that led to the second floor where the offices of the higher ups were situated.

Raquel, Monica, as well as the catering crew were too busy gawking in awe while trying to absorb the whole atmosphere of the place that they didn’t even notice a beautiful woman in a maroon pantsuit approach them with a pleasant smile plastered on her radiant face.

“Good evening everyone. You must be the catering service hired for tonight’s event. My name is Ágata and I would be ushering you to the event venue on the rooftop”, she said as she scanned each of their faces with pure delight.

Raquel took pleasure in Ágata’s welcoming aura as she replied with the same positive energy. “Good evening, Miss Ágata. My name is Raquel Murillo and I am their manager. It’s a pleasure to meet you and thank you for your warm welcome”, she extended her hand.

Ágata shook her hand carefully and responded, “The pleasure is ours, please come follow me”, as she politely nodded and headed towards the elevator located straight ahead from where they were standing.

When they reached the rooftop, almost everything was already in place. At the farthest side from where they were standing was a huge stage with an elegant string light backdrop occupied by a jazz band of four people practicing some of their songs. Just a few feet left of the stage was a mini bar that served all kinds of expensive alcoholic drinks. Right before the stage were the round tables covered in expensive white cloth with _gloriosa “fire” lilies_ that served as centrepieces; eight opulent glass chairs surrounded each table. Behind all the tables, right where they were standing, were a number of employees testing the sound system together with the outdoor spotlights. And on each side, Hanoi’s crew all began to busy themselves for the event that would be starting in less than ninety minutes.

After checking each station of the event, Ágata then informed Raquel that she would be heading back to the ground floor since things would start to get busy soon. Raquel simply nodded with a grin and uttered a simple thank you once more.

As her eyes looked down on the city lights below, she thought of her mother and planned on calling her but she slowly frowned as she saw the battery percentage on her phone.

“Hey Mon, do you have a charger?”, Raquel asked nervously while rummaging through her purse.

“Oh no, I’m sorry I didn’t bring mine, Raquel but you can use my phone if you’d like to make some calls. Is your phone dead?”

“I have about five percent left. _Joder_ , with all these preparations I completely forgot to charge my phone ahead”, she shook her head disappointedly. “It’s alright, I can just send my mother a message instead.”

“Oh okay then, I’ll probably switch my phone off for now. I don’t wanna get distracted”, Monica shrugged with her phone on her hand. “You should probably get one of those power bank things for your phone, you know. This isn’t the first time this has happened,” she added with a giggle, shooting her eyebrows up at Raquel who just sent her a defeated smile.

It was the middle of September and as the summer season was ending, the weather was beginning to get chilly, making it a perfect time to have an event at the rooftop. As Raquel looked around, she could see a few guests being ushered as they began to take their designated seats. The spacious rooftop of Arkiglobal was then brought to life as it became filled with the chitter-chatter from the guests mixed with the lively jazz music by the band. Raquel immediately recognized the song they started playing which was _Just the Way You Look Tonight_ by Ray Charles. Judging by the suits the men wore and dresses the ladies had wrapped around their bodies, it was evident that they were smoking rich.

She noticed that there were quite a few men her age and immediately blamed Alicia for these sudden thoughts. She never really cared to check out other men ever since she lost _the only man_ that mattered to her most. With him gone, it was almost as if there was nothing more to live for. He used to paint her skies with colors she never would have dared imagine but when he left, he took her whole world with him. During all those years of misery, all she held on to was her family along with Alicia and Monica, her closest friends in the world.

As she was beginning to sink deeper and deeper into these thoughts, her phone began to ring.

It was Alicia.

She didn’t even get to greet her with a “hi” since Alicia was talking too fast to the point where she was already inaudible.

“Wait wait, please slow down. What happened? Is there something wrong?” Raquel asked nervously since this almost never happens.

“Raquel, I don’t really know where to start, how do I say this to you umm…” She was nervous too, because _how do you tell your best friend that the love of her life has been alive this whole time?_

Raquel waited for five seconds and said, “Yes?”

“Wait are you already at Arkiglobal?” she sounded so nervous- she didn’t sound like Alicia _at all._

“Yes, I am”, she responded curtly. She was getting worried and impatient at the same time. _Why is it taking her so long to say what she has to say?_

“Okay I’ll tell you how it happened. I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and then guess what? Tatiana is here in Madrid! And THEN I saw this picture, Raquel, it was a group picture between those Arkiglobal leaders and Vision Architecture and then, Raquel I swear I saw-“

That was all she got from Alicia before her phone died. She just muttered a huge sigh and placed her phone back in her purse.

 _Saw what?_ Raquel thought. She was dumbfounded by Alicia’s words as they didn’t really make any sense to her, but she really didn’t have time to think deeper into it as the host spoke into the microphone and announced that the event was about to start in five minutes.

She checked each food and drink station, making sure that they were all prepared exquisitely for the guests. From appetizer to main course, drink and desserts, everything seemed to be perfect. Raquel took a deep breath and decided to not think too much about what Alicia was trying to say. They could talk about it later anyway.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen…”

The night began with the host greeting everyone as usual and after a few pleasantries, the founder of Arkiglobal, Arturo Roman, was introduced as he gave a short speech on stage.

“First of all, I’d like to thank everybody here tonight who made an effort to attend this special event. As you all know, Arkiglobal has been partnering with other architectural firms in the country and well, all I could say is that it has been quite a pleasant experience! For quite a few years, we have been busy designing buildings from cities all over the world – Tokyo, Rio, Denver, Berlin, Moscow, Helsinki, Nairobi, Oslo, and our very latest helical skyscraper in Stockholm. But now, another project is in the making and this time, it is very dear to me, to us, because it is not going to be anywhere else but here, in Madrid, our very own home”, Arturo proudly said with a pleased smile on his face as the crowd cheered with applause.

He then continued, “To make it even better, our firm is partnering with one of the best in the city of Barcelona. To give a short speech to us all, let me introduce the founder of Vision Architecture, Andres de Fonollosa.”

From the center table in the front row, a tall handsome man rose carefully from his seat and nodded curtly at the guests who were applauding as he proceeded towards the stage. He was wearing an all-white suit with a black shirt and bowtie. Though everybody’s eyes were on him, Raquel’s lingered at the woman seated next to his empty seat. She was wearing a beige colored mermaid gown that showed every curve of her body. Her red hair was carefully placed in a neat bun, showing off her diamond chandelier earrings. _She must be his wife,_ she thought. But something was so familiar about her and suddenly her minded shifted to Alicia’s call and suddenly thought she had realized it all. _That must be Tatiana._

But there was something else, she was sure of it. Alicia wouldn’t go crazy and nervous just for _this._

She wasn’t able to listen intently to Andres’ speech and all she heard at the end was, “… _so let me call on Salvador Martin to say a few words. Hermanito, come over here!”_

From the same table that Tatiana was seated at, a well-built man dressed in a navy blue suit and a white open collared shirt confidently made his way to the stage while Andres walked back to his seat. Raquel still couldn’t see his face as he had his back towards everyone.

But it wasn’t long until the spotlight finally hit his face, revealing _all_ his physical features. As the applause began to fade, he reached out to adjust the microphone stand with both his hands and said his first words. Everybody was keenly listening on what this gentleman had to say, but Raquel – she could only hear her heart beating ferociously in her chest at the sight of _him_. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t breathe as she forcefully swallowed the huge lump in her throat, unable to tear her gaze away from him even if she wanted to.

“Raquel”, Monica said breathlessly beside her. “Is-Isn’t that…?” she continued to ask, with a mixture of panic and confusion.

_”Sergio…”_

It was barely a whisper, but what she really wanted to do at that moment was scream as she tried to so desperately hold back the tears escaping from her eyes.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, everyone!! Hope you are all safe wherever you are :)
> 
> Thank you for leaving kudos as well as uplifting comments for the first chapter! I really do appreciate it. It means a lot!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter x

She had always imagined crossing paths with Sergio once again, but once she finally accepted that it was _impossible,_ the reality she had found herself in at that moment was making it harder for her to think straight. All this time, all these years she had been searching for the missing part of her that was him, only to end up spiralling in a dead end over and over again.

But now he was _here_.

She was looking straight at him, hearing his voice but unable to discern a single word. She wanted to move closer to him, to hold him close and speak to him once again. She had a million questions on her mind that were hushed as soon as the years went by, but now they have resurfaced once again, dominating her being.

And it was driving her _insane_.

In a place where oxygen was freely flowing due to the breeze that was constantly circulating, she felt suffocated.

She tried to keep her breathing steady, but her heart just wasn’t able to handle the present situation. She didn’t even realize that her hands were already shaking until Monica slowly grabbed ahold of them and stepped right in front of her, blocking her _view._

“Raquel, Raquel look at me”, she said carefully while looking deeply into her eyes, trying to capture her gaze. Her face showed strong concern for the brunette standing across her. She too was in shock and she couldn’t even imagine how Raquel must be feeling, _after all these years_.

Monica’s gesture made her snap out of her thoughts as she made eye contact with her and slightly opened her mouth to say something. It so happened that she just couldn’t find her voice as she shut her mouth once again and shook her head. Her gaze fell to the floor as she closed her eyes and attempted to normalize her breathing.

“I-I need to get out of here”, she quickly mumbled as she briskly walked towards the elevator without looking back. Monica trailed behind in an instant and followed her as she took the elevator to the ground floor.

As they both exited through the front glass doors of the building, they heard footsteps nearby.

“RAQUEL”

Their heads whipped towards the direction of a very familiar voice.

Behind the enormous bushes close to the building’s entrance, Alicia emerged with a worried and frenzied look on her face.

“I’ve been trying to call both of you the whole time. Raquel, are you okay?” By the look on her face, Alicia was certain that she was too late. She had already seen _him._

Raquel proceeded to answer her question with another question instead.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be with German?” as she spoke, the two girls could most definitely see that her mind was somewhere else.

“I told him to drop me off here. I saw Sergio in one of Tatiana’s pictures”, she quietly said.

Raquel let out an exasperated sigh as she finally pieced everything out together, cursing herself internally for not charging her phone beforehand.

“I was going to go find you inside but the guards won’t let me in. This place has strict protocol.” Alicia scoffed as she recalled begging the guards to let her in, even just for a few seconds. She even explained the level of urgency for the situation, but they just wouldn’t budge.

“I never should have turned my phone off”, Monica said regretfully. They really could have used a good warning for the sudden twist of events.

“Girls, please, it’s okay.”

“Raquel, you should go home.” Monica said quietly with worry depicted in her eyes. “I’ll take care of everything upstairs, I promise. You should head home and rest.”

Raquel didn’t want to leave Monica behind but she just couldn’t bring herself to go up there again and see Sergio, or whatever his name was now – _Salvador, was it?_

“I’m gonna call an Uber, kay?” Alicia said, pulling her phone out of her pocket in a swift motion while Raquel just nodded slowly, being unable to process the recent events.

“You sure you’ll be okay? I really don’t wanna leave you guys-“ Raquel spoke directly at Monica who just shook her head and grabbed her hands.

“Raquel, please. You’ve had enough for tonight.” Monica said with a sad smile, reassuring her friend about the whole situation.

“Thanks, Mon. You’re the best.” She sighed and gave her a tight hug and a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Arriving in two minutes”, Alicia said without taking her eyes off of her phone’s screen as she zoomed in on the map on the Uber app.

“You guys take care.” Monica then went over to Alicia and gave her a hug as well in which she straight away returned.

When the Uber arrived, Monica said goodbye once again and went back inside the building and straight up to the rooftop. Raquel and Alicia both sat at the spacious backseat of the car, spending the whole ride in silence. Alicia wanted to comfort her, but like what happened in the past, she was not really good at comforting so she just hugged her best friend and kissed her right temple. _You’re going to be okay, Raquel._

Raquel ever so desperately tried to hold back her tears again, but this time they just managed to fall one by one, and then all at once. She just wasn’t able to hold it in any longer, especially now that she was able to cry freely in the dark, with Alicia right next to her. This reminded her so much of a similar situation in the past and couldn’t believe the chances of it happening once again. She was just grateful that she had someone’s shoulder to cry on and even though no one said a word, she felt perfectly safe and contented in her friend’s presence.

As the car pulled up by their driveway, they both muttered a ‘thank you’ to the driver who slightly gave them a sympathetic look. By now, Raquel’s eyes had become puffy and her cheeks were tear-strained.

“Do you want me to come in with you?” asked Alicia in a concerned tone.

Raquel shook her head, “No, its fine. I appreciate you waiting for me and all but I need to be alone tonight. Thank you, Alicia”, she said truthfully while wiping away her tears with the dorsal surface of her right hand.

Alicia agreed and gave her one last hug before she walked to her house which was just right next door.

That night, Raquel didn’t get to sleep a wink despite the exhausting day she had. Just when she was slowly trying to pick up the fragments of the past, _this_ had to happen.

_And what was that all about, anyway?_ _Why did Sergio change his name?_

_Unless…_ _he wanted to escape his old life? Without even telling her? Without a goodbye?_

_Was his name even Sergio in the first place?_

She had a gazillion questions pervading her mind for the nth time, but this time it just hurt her even more thinking about the possible reasons that Sergio would have had. Like a detective, she gathered all the clues and hints that he might have left behind and tried to solve the whole mystery in her head. She was indeed desperate to make it make sense but no matter how hard she tried, like the wrong bunch of keys trying over and over again to open up a lock, it just _wouldn’t._

And then she realized that maybe he just didn’t love her at all. But she quickly shook her head at this immediate thought because _no, it wouldn’t make any sense._

…

_Brrrr Brrrr_

_Brrr Brrrr_

Raquel scrambled through her sheets upon feeling the vibration of her phone that was situated under her left arm. She didn’t even realize that she fell asleep while crying last night as evidenced by her pillow case which was partly damp from her tears.

When she saw the current time flashed on her phone, her eyes widened in shock but then it dawned on her that she forgot to set her alarm because her mind was filled with _other things._ The events of the night came back rushing to her all at once and it instantly made her heart ache with longing, but most of all she was just hurting so so much. She closed her eyes once again and took deep breaths to calm herself. She didn’t want to spend the day sulking any longer - she had twelve years to do that. She decided to get up and make herself busy by first taking a cold shower. On her way to the bathroom, she opened her phone and immediately saw a few notifications on _WhatsApp_ which were from Alicia, Monica, and her mother, Marívi. She decided to read her mother’s message first since they didn’t get to see each other last night – she was busy monitoring the staff at Hanoi due to Raquel and Monica’s absence.

Mama: _Hola, Raquel, carino… I noticed you came home early last night._

_Was everything alright with the event? I bet you’re really tired,_

_but don’t worry I made you breakfast. Tostada con tomate,_

_aceite, y jamón. I’ll be at Hanoi upto 3_ _in the afternoon. Text or_

_call me as soon as you wake up._ _I love you, carino._

Her heart melted in an instant upon reading her mother’s amiable message. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled signalling her inexorable hunger since it had been more than eighteen hours when she last ate a decent meal. It didn’t even cross her mind to make herself a quick dinner in the kitchen last night because she had already lost her appetite. She typed in a quick reply, telling her mother that she had nothing to worry about and that she appreciated the little breakfast gesture. Not long after, she also decided to open the messages from her friends who showed nothing but deep concern towards her.

Monica: _Hey Raquel, how are you? I can come over if you need_

_company. Today’s my day off, remember?:) Please_

_take all the time you need. Let’s talk soon._

Alicia: _Good morning, mi amor. I know you probably still don’t_

_feel the need to talk about it, but you can’t avoid it_

_forever. You’re not gonna let this eat you up again, are_

_you?? I have a new bottle of red wine here from Rioja._

_Why don’t I bring it when I come over??? Your call._

In the bathroom, she looked up steadily and saw her reflection on the mirror which greeted her with red, puffy eyes and a debilitated, weary expression. She didn’t even bother changing her clothes last night. Many mornings in the past she had woken up this way, but she never seemed to be getting used to it. She deeply sighed at the woman she saw before her and slowly put her phone face-down at the sink counter, after which she took off her clothes in haste when she felt her stomach rumble repeatedly. She quickly hopped on the shower, the warm plantar aspects of her feet touching the cold ceramic tiles, and even as the freezing water alerted her bodily sensations, her heart was still in a perennial state of paralysis.

…

Sergio found himself suddenly deep in thought about the dream he had last night but was disrupted by three subtle knocks on the door.

“Yes, come in!” Sergio shouted while sitting on the edge of his neatly made king-sized bed, busily manipulating the laces of his brown leather shoes.

The door opened swiftly while Andres, in an impeccably crisp grey colored suit, entered with a huge confident smile on his face. He was in a euphoric mood, _as always_.

“Good morning, _hermanito_. How are you adjusting to Madrid so far?” He proceeded to sit on the brown cantilever chair from across the bed, resting his arms on its wooden rails and crossing one of his legs above the other.

Sergio looked up and gave him a soft chuckle. “It’s really different from Barcelona. Don’t get me wrong, of course this city is beautiful too and not to mention way bigger, but I think I’m feeling a little homesick.”

Andres snickered upon hearing his response and lightly switched the topic. “Congratulations for coming this far. Years ago, I honestly didn’t envision this happening. Who would have thought you’d get to be the lead architect representing our firm?”

“Don’t get so excited, I might still mess up, you know.”

“Yes, yes I get how stressful it may be, considering that it’s your first time to handle this on your own but you know what they say, experience is the best teacher. You got to let yourself go and explore at some point. Also, I thought of one thing that might make your job easier since you’d be attending to _tons_ of tasks.”

Sergio raised his eyebrows in curiosity, not knowing where this is going. He had been under Andres’ wing for just a few years and sure he already had lots of experience on the process, but he has never tried carrying so much responsibility. Most importantly with a huge business partner like Arkiglobal, there certainly isn’t any room left for errors. Andres trusted him with this opportunity and he wanted to make the most of it.

“I think you should get a personal assistant. You know, someone to do the little things while you work on the big things. It will really help you focus more and get the most important things done and even with enough time to spare for your leisure hours.” Andres added a little gesture with his hands in attempt to express things more clearly.

Sergio slowly nodded as he began to agree to Andres’ suggestion.

“And how would I select a certain someone to be my PA?”

“Ah, don’t worry. My secretary will take care of it, unless you want to interview applicants first?”

“Oh sure, that would be great. I would want to know what type of person would be working for me beforehand.” Sergio said in a small smile accompanied by a subtle nod. Maybe things were not going to be as difficult as he feared after all.

“I’m really nervous though. I’m actually going to be on my own since you’re going back to Barcelona, right?”, he continued.

“Ah yes yes, but I’d come visit once or twice a week to check up on things. I believe in you and I think it’s time for you to experience this, _hermanito_. Once you’ll get to settle and know everyone on the team, it’s all going to flow smoothly, I promise you.” Andres reassured him and smiled proudly, his eyes flicking towards his leather watch since it was already time for lunch.

Sergio gave him a small smile and approached him hastily, stretching his arms out to give him a huge warm hug.

“Thank you, Andres. And I mean for everything.”

Andres immediately returned the affectionate motion and patted his back firmly with his hands.

“No worries, I got you always.”

And with that, the two gentlemen dressed in expensive business suits walked side by side, down the grand staircase of the mansion and towards the spacious dining room on the far left which composed of a classic, massive rectangular table surrounded by eight wooden chairs, three on each side and one on each end. The kitchen staff were now busy cleaning up as they had just finished preparing lunch. In less than a minute, the sumptuous food were already placed in a single row while both Andres and Sergio seated themselves at the far end, ready to fill their empty stomachs for a brand new day.

…

Raquel spent most of the day cleaning her bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen – pretty much all the nooks and crannies of her little two-storey home. This was the only way that made her think of anything else besides that one thing on her mind that has been persistently popping up every time she had nothing to do.

She was almost through with cleaning the kitchen floor when she received another message.

Alicia: _Just a reminder, this wine ain’t gonna drink itself._

_By the way, I’m not gonna be home until 7pm. I’m_

_at a family reu- reuni- , I can’t even say it. I dread_

_it so much._

Raquel sighed in contemplation at Alicia’s message.

She was right. She needed to talk about everything she has been feeling inside before they all pile up again and destroy what’s left of her sanity. While mopping the last few tiles of the kitchen, she glanced at the clock above the stovetop and looked at it wide-eyed _._ She had tried so hard to make herself busy that she didn’t notice how late it was getting.

After such a tiring day, she _needed_ to unwind. She also realized that she would only end up exhausted every time if she would constantly allow herself to be a prisoner of her own thoughts. She could only think of one solution that could alleviate her problem and grabbed her phone out of her shorts pocket, deciding then and there to text her two most important friends.

_See you at 8, Alicia. If you’re not busy…Oh and don’t forget the wine x_

_Hey Mon, if you’re free tonight at 8, come to my house x_

She immediately received replies from both of them and she finally found herself smiling for the first time today. She didn’t know what exactly she had done to be blessed with such kind-hearted and understanding friends. All she knew was that she’d be a total wreck without them by her side.

“Mi hija!” Marívi resounded while entering through the front door, her hands full of groceries. Her arrival caused Raquel to quickly escape from her thoughts.

“Hola mama” her daughter responded while approaching her briskly and giving her a quick warm hug. She then took the groceries from her fingers that were tightly gripping the handles of the plastic bags and placed them carefully on the countertop.

“I came home a little late. I forgot we were running out of eggs and milk. I also went and bought some extra meat and seafood.”

Raquel gave her a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and she was quite afraid that her mother would notice, so she just looked down and tried to look busy whilst she sorted out and arranged the grocery items. She just didn’t know what or how to tell her mother about everything that has happened since she would just worry about her and that’s the last thing she wants right now.

“By the way, I am going home to País Vasco the day after tomorrow, okay? My sister needs my help regarding her business. I’m quite uncertain when I’ll be back. Probably in a few months.” Marívi looked at her daughter sympathetically as she would have to be living alone for quite a while.

“Oh, that’s alright mama. I can manage.” Raquel reassured her while slowly picking up the eggs one by one out of their carton and transferring them to the refrigerator cabinet.

Hours passed by speedily and right after their little chat over dinner which was prepared by her daughter, Marívi headed straight to bed right away, exhausted after a long day. Any minute now, her girls would arrive and she would finally get to disclose her feelings and emotions, maybe perhaps she would shed some tears once again. She shuddered at the fact that it would just like be old times, except that this was nothing compared to what happened in the past.

Lost in her thoughts, she almost didn’t hear the doorbell ring.

She took a deep breath, walked straight to the front door and opened it promptly, revealing two very familiar faces whose eyes were looking at her with a mixture of anticipation and eagerness with a hint of commiseration.

“Come on in”, she gestured and hugged them both as they stepped foot into her crib.

They settled in the living room which was dimly lit with antique lampshades that Marívi brought from their old house. As Alicia put down her bottle of wine on the modern coffee table, she noticed the box of tissues that seemed to be out of place. She knew exactly what that was there for as she parted her lips to say something, but immediately withdrew.

“I’m so glad you called us, Raquel. We were so worried.” Monica truthfully expressed as her eyebrows stitched together in concern.

Raquel gave her a small smile and said, “Thanks for being here for me. Both of you. Oh I almost forgot, I’ll be right back. I’ll go get the wine glasses.”

The two ladies seated themselves comfortably on the carpeted floor, just as they always did during their nights at Raquel’s place. In less than thirty seconds, Raquel returned with three glasses in her hands, handing both Alicia and Monica one of each. She sat in between them, placing a feathery pillow on her lap, and chuckled nervously.

“It’s going to be a long night, isn’t it?”

“Just take your time, mi amor. We’re all ears for you.” Alicia reassured her while expertly opening the wine bottle with a corkscrew. 

“I also got something to share, but you go first.” Alicia added nonchalantly, unaware that the information she had within her was going to provoke a very impulsive decision from Raquel.

While waiting for Raquel to speak, Alicia poured the red alcoholic beverage in all of their glasses, filling them half-full. They all took their time, drinking in silence and after what seemed like ages, she finally spoke.

She shared every tiny detail, from the way her heart sped up at the sight of him to the way her hands involuntarily shook and the fact that if it weren’t for Monica, she didn’t think she would have successfully fled the scene since her whole body seemed to be frozen in place.

“Wait hold up, _Salvador Martin_?” Alicia was discombobulated as she tried to process the information. During the family reunion she attended just hours ago, she sure had heard Tatiana mentioning a certain _Salvador_ in one of their conversations but didn’t pay enough attention since she was busy texting German and thinking of possible escape routes.

“Yeah, I heard it too.” Monica slowly spoke with wide eyes as the memory was still vivid in her mind. Until now, she couldn’t believe it was actually him – except that it was _not._

Raquel looked defeated and all she wanted to do was disappear. Her eyes started to redden once again as she grabbed for the box of tissues adjacent to her glass.

“But he was different, you know. The way he talked, the way he carried himself. All different.” She sniffed while she pinched her nose with a tissue. Monica nodded in agreement as she caressed her back softly, wanting to comfort her as much as she could.

“A-and, he wasn’t wearing glasses which was really odd. He never goes anywhere without them. I remember one time, he told me that he couldn’t stand lenses because they were annoying and he didn’t like having to poke his eyes every time.” She chortled subtly at the memory of her and Sergio in Hanoi.

Alicia was only half-listening as her mind was on to something else. She was trying her best to replay her conversation with Tatiana during the reunion, the one that she _also_ half-listened to since she was particularly dreading it the entire time. Now she wished she had been slightly more attentive for the matter.

Monica smiled sadly at her friend who was drowning in her tears once again. Her heart suddenly raced as Raquel shot up and adjusted her posture all of a sudden to say something she almost forgot.

“ _Hermanito_ … that guy called him _hermanito_ ”, she said with her eyebrows meeting together. Something did not sit right with this.

“Sergio _doesn’t_ have a brother, he’s an only child”, she continued after which she grabbed her glass without hesitation and gulped all the remaining wine contained within it.

Monica’s expression reflected Raquel’s in an instant as they both became more and more bewildered. Her mouth was slightly agape as she was thinking of ways on how things would somehow make sense. To no avail, they both ended up sitting in silence once again.

Grabbing the cylindrical body of the bottle, Raquel absentmindedly poured some more wine into her glass when all of a sudden she became so close to staining her living room carpet due to Alicia’s precipitous clamour. As a response, she instinctively cursed under breath as she knew how difficult it would be to clear up such.

Alicia didn’t seem to notice what happened as she had a look on her face similar to a failing student’s who had just realized how to solve a math problem.

“Tatiana mentioned a Salvador guy in our conversation earlier. Something about him looking for a personal assistant since he happens to be the lead architect for a project here?” Her eyes squinted at a faraway object as she was trying to recall more details, but unfortunately that was all she could muster. “I didn’t know she was talking about Sergio. Hell, I didn’t expect Salvador and Sergio to be the same person. _Que cojones está pasando aquí_?!” She flailed her arms around as she tried to gesticulate her thoughts that were getting more and more disorganized each minute.

Monica let out a short gasp as she met Alicia’s eyes. “That means he’d be staying here for quite some time”, she muttered each word slowly as she was having a hard time believing the words coming out of her mouth.

Raquel still remained silent and seemed to be spiralling in her thoughts. As she poured wine into her glass again for the third time, she thought about how much he had changed all throughout the years. She knows in her heart that it was him she saw, _but why does fate keep pulling her close to someone that clearly doesn’t want to be a part of her life? He never even cared to explain things before, so why would he bother now?_ A series of questions have invaded her mind but they were different at present as she now knew more about why he had appeared all of a sudden. She found her chest rising and falling rapidly as she was breathing heavily due to the over activity of her mind.

“I need answers”, she quietly said with her eyes glued on her glass of wine, carefully swirling it around in a clockwise direction.

Her friends just looked at each other knowingly with sympathetic expressions. They both knew that the situation was impossible considering it was almost as if Sergio didn’t know her anymore. He never even bothered to send a message or visit her at Hanoi or here at home. Almost as if he wanted to avoid her forever. _But why was he here and why now?_ It just didn’t make any sense.

As Raquel processed every bit of thought in her mind, she wondered what it would be like to just come up to him and ask him straight away all the unanswered questions that had been the reasons for her sleepless nights. At this point, she was already desperate. She had indeed suffered long enough for her to be able to endure another day of the same numb, aching pain reverberating through the hollows of her chest.

She was sitting almost motionless when she became aware that she was getting nowhere with all this. She’ll probably never know the answers and maybe it has to stay this way. In her head, she then decided to call it a night.

_Until_ she found herself giving in to that tiny conception at the corner of her mind.

“He’s looking for a personal assistant?” asked Raquel in a small voice whilst she stared at the edge of the coffee table as if it were the most interesting thing in the living room.

“Mm-hmm”, Alicia merely nodded her head. 

When Raquel looked up, she had a different look in her eyes which reflected a tad mixture of hope, sadness, and uncertainty. She expeditiously turned her head left and right to meet her friends’ curious gazes with a certain look on her face that made Alicia feel uneasy at the pit of her stomach. She could almost see a light bulb pop up above Raquel’s head in which she wanted to switch off immediately. Not a second later, Monica then began to register what was exactly about to happen. None of them wanted to blurt anything out, in case they were actually right about their conjectures.

But Alicia couldn’t help herself.

“Raquel, NO-“, she shook her head rapidly with her eyes widening in horrification whilst Monica took a deep breath in a presumption of what was about to come.

“ _I wanna get the job_ ”, Raquel said nonchalantly, choosing to ignore the nonverbal cues put up all over the place by the two other distressed beings in the living room.

They both looked at her with mouths wide open, unable to believe what was happening and what was going to happen pretty soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be more of Sergio in the next chapters to come!! :D
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated!


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year! x
> 
> I don't know why I had difficulty writing this chapter but here it is! Hope you guys enjoy.

_Despite the cold autumn wind, she found herself face to face with the blazing fire emanating from the huge piece of red metallic chunk that was meters before her, the only separation being the brightly colored tape that read ‘caution’ in repeat. The sirens were loud enough to deafen those that were in proximity, but she could only hear her heart shattering over and over again._

_At that moment, she couldn’t feel anything at all._

_“Raquel, the police found something.” Her mother said while approaching her, awakening her from her thoughts as she forced her weary eyes to gaze upon hers in despair._

_With every ounce of strength in her, she managed to bring herself before the investigating officer who gave her a downcast look._

_“Do you know this man, dear? Is he the owner of this car?” He asked in a soft tone, showing her a college ID that he pulled out from a leather wallet that was almost completely burnt._

_She recognized that wallet. It was her gift to him during Christmas the previous year. How could she ever forget?_

_Her lip began to quiver while she tried to find her voice. She slowly looked at the ID being shown to her but she already knew whose face she was going to see._

_She couldn’t manage to say another word because everything just felt like a dream. This couldn’t be happening._

_The investigating officer seemed to have registered her response based on her nonverbal actions._

_“Does he have any family?”_

_She just nodded, feeling light-headed. “He- his father lives in Valencia, I haven’t met him.”_

_“Alright, thank you,” he said while giving her a sympathetic look. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”_

_“The face,” she blurted out forcefully while trying to swallow the huge lump in her throat._

_He looked perplexed. “Excuse me?”_

_“The face. Is it really him?” Raquel didn’t want to know, but she needed to._

_The officer looked rather uncomfortable touching the subject since Raquel was in a very vulnerable state, so he tried to release very careful information regarding the body that was pulled out by some fire-fighters before the swarms of people began to evade the perimeter of the scene._

_Raquel looked at his mouth as he spoke, but at the same time she just wasn’t there. When she heard what was said regarding Sergio’s face being unrecognizable, she wasn’t able to take it anymore._

_She couldn’t find it in her to scream out her frustrations, so she just gave in to the weakness that her body was feeling._

_In the middle of the busy crowds of police officers and fire-fighters, as well as random civilians who were all shocked to their core, she slowly sunk to the ground. Her wobbly legs weren’t able to carry her weight any longer._

_As if on cue, she began to feel clothed in a familiar feeling. She looked behind her hastily and saw Alicia wrapping her hands around her and this made her eyes leak out more tears. The redhead wasn’t saying anything but she didn’t really need to. Raquel turned towards her and sobbed heavily, wetting her sweater with her fresh tears._

_“I-,” she began to say with her face still buried in Alicia’s wool sweater._

_“I can’t believe he’s gone.”_

_Alicia felt the tears that sprung to her eyes began to fall. She couldn’t believe it either. Sergio was a good guy, one that she trusted wholeheartedly to love and take care of Raquel, and now he was gone just like the wind. It’s really unfair how life just seemingly throws anything at you, expecting you to be able to get back up after something as traumatizing as this._

* * *

_So this was it._

As Raquel rigidly stood a few meters away from the concrete steps of Arkiglobal, she tightly grasped the transparent plastic folder with her fingers. It contained all the papers she would need for this job interview.

She was having second thoughts and she knew it. But she surprisingly found more courage within her to go with what she had planned than to drop everything and try (once again) to move on with her life.

She instinctively took a deep breath through her nostrils, silently counting to four as she did so. Holding her breath for a few more seconds, she closed her eyes and slowly breathed all the air out of her lungs. This relaxation technique taught by her father had always worked on her for as long as she could remember. Those days when he was still alive, she used to throw tantrums almost all the time, mostly due to petty reasons like her classmates picking on her for fun or her not being able to easily finish her homework.

She smiled sadly at the memory. Perhaps if he were still alive at this moment, he would have been able to give her some advice regarding what she went through and _is_ going through.

Adjusting her tight black pencil skirt that hugged her curves perfectly, she sighed deeply and started to ascend the stairs which led to the entrance. A tall, buff man who stood by the door eyed her expectantly as she approached, asking for identification. She quickly zipped her leather purse open and fished out her wallet which contained all her credit cards, some photos, receipts, and cash within.

“Good morning, Miss Murillo,” he gave her a curt nod upon inspecting her ID, allowing her to enter.

She gave a small, albeit nervous, smile in return. “Good morning”, she said after which she cleared her throat, only noticing now how dry it was from all the nervousness she was feeling ever since she had woken up this morning. She did not even get to finish her breakfast since her stomach was practically doing somersaults the entire time.

The buff man gave her a tiny laminated card with “GUEST 11” printed in clear bold letters at the front and Arkiglobal’s logo at the back.

“Please pin this to your clothing and return this when you leave, Miss Murillo” he informed her.

“Thank you very much,” she managed to say with a smile as she pinned the card to her skirt proximal to the region near her right hip bone.

It was still seven thirty in the morning but the atmosphere inside was already filled with employees who had their noses stuck in their own tasks, only talking to one another if necessary.

Her interview was still at eight but due to her restlessness, she ended up coming early. She never would have thought she’d set foot in this place once again in the near future, but here she was, about to do something _so stupid._ Despite being set on her decision, she couldn’t help but hear a tiny voice in head begging her to just leave and go home.

_“Raquel, I think you need some more time to think this through.”_

_“We just don’t want you to get hurt, mi amor. Please don’t do it.”_

Her friends’ voices echoed through her mind as they all sat in her living room just the other night. It had been a quick and impulsive decision, she knew this.

But she just had to do it. She was too curious not to.

Despite _already_ having a much better job than what she was going to be interviewed for, she had to tweak her resumé a _little_ bit. She still used her real name of course. She did not have time to undergo illegal processes and fake almost every identification she had since it would take a long time and she did not have that. She did not have time.

If Sergio still recognized her, he would notice anyway and it would just create more complications that nobody asked for.

 _Salvador._ Dammit. She had to remind herself that he was Salvador now.

She stood in front of the elevator, contemplating whether she should ask him if he still recognized her and remembered everything they shared in the past. It was a long long time ago, but those _memories_ couldn’t be forgotten just like that. There was _no way._

She shook her head lightly and as the elevator bell dinged, she got in carefully as she was wearing maroon peep-toe stilettos that had the potential to get stuck in the space between the elevator and the ground floor.

As the elevator doors opened at the second floor, she did not have any trouble locating _his_ office since she instantly spotted several women who were seated neatly in white wingback chairs that were orderly lined outside.

She sat at the far end since those closest the door were already filled by the others. _Man, she was not the only bird._

“Hi, what’s your name? I’m Savannah,” chirped a young woman who seemed to be in her early twenties who was sitting beside her. She was wearing a beige fitted dress that stopped just above her knees with a white blazer that fit her torso elegantly.

Raquel’s eyebrows immediately perked up at the friendly social contact initiated by this young woman. It seemed to have relaxed her a bit.

“I’m Raquel. It’s nice to meet you, Savannah.” She flashed a genuine smile as she extended her hand.

“This is actually my third interview this week for a similar position. I haven’t really been lucky,” said Savannah as she shrugged her shoulders and frowned slightly.

Raquel felt a pang in her chest. It didn’t even cross her mind that there were actually individuals here who were serious about this and here she was, pretending to be jobless just for the sake of an unresolved past.

“Hola, buenos días a todos. The interviews will start in a minute. Uh, we’ll start with Miss Maya Lopez,” a petite lady with huge silver round eye glasses stood near the doorway with a folded bond paper clasped in one hand.

As Raquel looked at the ladies seated before her, she silently counted them in her head. There were a total of seven applicants, including her. That was not so bad. She could actually have a shot at this.

“I really want to help send my younger sister to school since my mother just lost her job,” Savannah continued sharing, oblivious to the guilt that began to surface at the pit of Raquel’s stomach.

“That’s- I’m really sorry…” She began to murmur as she didn’t really know what to say. She really did feel sorry for the girl but _she needed this too._

Soon their conversation transformed into a lighter one but Raquel’s mind was elsewhere. In a few minutes, she could be face to face with _him._

_Oh get it together, or else._

Somehow, she was certain that he wouldn’t remember her. Although the reason remains vague.

She was suddenly alerted by the vibrations of her phone signalling a text message. She expected it to be from her mother, informing her that she had safely landed in País Vasco, but it was from her favorite redhead.

Alicia: _I guess there’s nothing left to say but good…luck._

Alicia: _T^T_

_What is that???_

She replied in just a few milliseconds as Raquel’s phone vibrated once again.

Alicia: _It’s me crying due to your stubbornness. I’m not_

_even going to try to give advice anymore… Just_

_be careful._

Raquel almost rolled her eyes at what she just read. A smile began to play at the corner of her lips as she began typing in a witty response, but her name was suddenly called by the same woman with the huge round glasses who popped her head out the door from the inside.

She swallowed the huge lump in her throat and tried to steady her breathing, but no matter how much she rehearsed this moment in her head, she willingly surrendered to her emotions as she could not really dictate her heart what to feel.

It was thumping like crazy in her chest. It was all she could hear while she slowly rose from her seat and fixed her white satin blouse which was covered by her black blazer.

She just hoped he wouldn’t be able to hear it. As impossible as it sounds, it still could be true.

…

He was sitting in the office assigned to him by the Arkiglobal higher-ups, carefully reviewing the digital resumés that were sent to him via email by Andrés’ secretary. It was still thirty minutes before the interview so he decided to do a quick overview himself.

As he sipped his hot caramel latté, he went over them one by one to pass time until he saw a picture of _someone_ that made him feel something in his stomach that he could not even describe. He shook this feeling away and dismissed it as him just being hungry so early in the morning. He refused breakfast at the mansion as he was not that hungry and besides, he didn’t have anyone to eat with as Andres had went home to Barcelona with his family to take care of other projects back in Vision Architecture. He sure missed that place already, it was like his second home. But Andres was right, this was a golden opportunity and he ought to make the best out of it.

“Will I start sending applicants in, Señor? It’s a minute ‘til eight,” Andrés’ secretary said, interrupting his thoughts.

“Ah, yes. As you should,” he gave her a warm smile and nodded while bringing his hand to his tie, making sure it was still properly in place. He closed his laptop as well, sipping the rest of his morning coffee that had already turned lukewarm.

He shut his eyes for a few seconds, mentally shifting into his own ‘Professor’ mode, as he would like to call his persona while at work. In contrast to his calm and relaxed Salva self, the Professor is strict about getting things in order and is serious in everything work-related.

After interviewing the first three applicants, he had not decided yet which of them could possibly get the job because he seemed to be looking for a _specific_ quality.

When the next applicant entered, he could already sense her nervousness as her wide doe eyes locked in his.

…

She could sense that there was not even a hint of familiarity visible in the way he looked at her. It was as if it was the first time that he had looked into those chocolate brown eyes of hers.

To be feeling perplexed was an understatement. She wasn’t even able to hide it.

She was looking into his eyes, but at the same time she _wasn’t_. There were no memories there. No past, no familiar feeling, no emotion. Just absolute nothingness.

He was a stranger.

_Shit. Say something, Raquel._

“Uh… Buenos días Señor _Martín,”_ she forced a closed smile as she nodded slightly in a respectful manner. Calling him by a surname that was definitely _not_ his felt really odd to her.

“Buenos días. Please, take a seat.” He gestured to one of the black wing chairs that were facing each other just right in front of his huge office table that contained his laptop, briefcase, some pens, and a stack of business papers. Raquel noticed that there were still a few empty spaces on the shelves and other smaller tables in the room. He must not have finished unpacking yet as there were unopened boxes that were visible at the corner of her eye. _How long was he going to be here?_

Briskly, she approached and seated herself carefully on one of the comfortable chairs. She wasn’t entirely sure that she would be able to stand any longer considering that her legs literally felt like they had transformed into jelly.

Her expression must have been the same as the moment she came in since he cleared his throat and let out a small chuckle.

“You are clearly nervous but I assure you that there is no need for you to be. Let’s just keep this interview casual, shall we, Miss…?” He slightly looked down at the paper that she handed to him just a few seconds ago.

Raquel even seemed shocked that her resumé was in his hands. She was most certainly losing it as she doesn’t even remember handing it to him.

_Get it together, Raquel._

“Murillo,” she blurted out right before he had the chance to scan her full name.

“Murillo. Raquel Murillo.” He nodded casually, clearly unaware of what he was doing to her at that moment.

Her breath got caught in her throat the moment she heard her name escape from his lips.

It was in the same moment wherein she noticed his physical features up close. His dark wavy hair was slightly tousled but in a neat way and there was a slight trace of bags under his eyes, _probably due to work stress_ , she thought. His beard was now fully grown compared to when she saw him long ago, but it was neatly trimmed. His dark brown eyes were… staring into hers expectantly.

_Joder. Did he ask something?_

She chuckled nervously. “I beg your pardon, Señor.”

_I beg your pardon? Seriously, Raquel?_

“I asked if this is your first time applying for a position like this,” he reiterated his words patiently, giving her a small smile that revealed his dimples. He felt slightly amused as he did not completely understand why she was acting this way.

“Oh yes. Yes it is.” She answered in a small voice, feeling calmer than she was a few seconds ago.

So he didn’t recognize her at all.

For a moment, it crossed her mind that he might be faking all of it but he couldn’t be that good. There must be something else going on.

She caught her mind wandering again and forced herself to snap out of it.

In between answering questions posed by Sergio, she eyed the door momentarily as if wanting to escape. She was fighting an inner battle between both her mind and heart that wanted very different things.

“So tell me. Why do you think you are fit for this job?” asked Sergio, bringing his hands together and intertwining his fingers. He noticed that at that moment, he was not the Professor nor he was Salva, for the matter, though he didn’t dwell on it much. _It must have been his empty stomach._

As he looked into her eyes, he noticed how much worry and fear there were planted in them. He wanted to reassure her once again, but he opted to giving her a comforting smile instead.

_What was he doing?_

Raquel quickly sorted through her mind for valid answers regarding the question posed by Sergio, but she could only think of one response: _I need to know what happened to you._

“Well… I-,” she started saying but immediately trailed off due to lack of thought.

Sergio looked at her as if saying, _go on._

She released a deep breath and chose to say what was exactly on her mind at that moment.

“I can assure you that I am fit for this job because I believe that I am capable in delivering exceptional results. I am punctual, flexible, determined, hardworking, and not to mention, my memory is excellent. I am confident that I can get things done whenever and wherever you want them.”

_And I seriously need to know what happened to you._

She was about to go on as she opened her mouth once more but found him nodding enthusiastically to what she had just said.

“That’s great to hear. Well, I guess this concludes the interview, Miss Murillo. You will get a call soon if the job would be yours.”

“Thank you, Señor.” She politely said as she slowly got up from her seat and at the same time, she found him mirroring her movements as he stretched out his hand.

Her eyes widened.

Not at the gesture, but on what was encircling his wrist.

It was the black leather watch that he always wore everyday. He never took it off since it was the only thing that reminded him of his father.

She forced a smile and hesitantly shook his hand, sending a series of electrical currents all throughout her body. She would have released her hand in an instant if it weren’t for his larger hand that was tightly gripping hers in a brief, yet firm handshake.

She couldn’t bother looking at him now as tears have now gathered themselves at the corners of her eyes. The last thing she would want right now is to confuse this man even more (and embarrass herself as well).

He really had no idea who she was or what was going through her head. For him, it was his first time meeting her.

Upon releasing her hand, she quickly mumbled another ‘thank you’ and immediately spun around towards the direction of the door.

There was something different about her but he couldn’t quite place his finger on it. For some reason, he could see through her. He could perfectly sense that there was something else bothering her other than the interview she had just went through.

Before Raquel could open the door, a woman dressed in a white pantsuit and nude heels suddenly entered the office prior to knocking shortly.

“Señor, I-“ she began to say, but stopped when she found herself standing across Raquel, whom she indeed remembered from a few nights ago.

Raquel had a horrid expression as she found herself face to face with Ágata. She totally forgot that she worked here and knew all about her being employed. A restaurant manager, even.

“Raquel, what are you doing here?” asked Ágata surprisingly.

“Uh… I just finished my job interview,” she muttered with a pleading expression on her face. She was just grateful that she had her back towards Sergio, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to pull this off.

Ágata seemed confused as to why she seemed panicky all of a sudden but decided to play along, to Raquel’s relief.

“Oh, right. I forgot you told me about that. Anyway, let’s catch up later.” She lied, forcing a smile although her eyes were demanding for an explanation from her.

Walking past Ágata, she exhaled a huge sigh of relief. She wasn’t even sure if they’d meet again but if ever they would, she’d have a lot of explaining to do.

…

“Hey Raquel! How was it?” Monica immediately greeted her as she stepped inside Hanoi which was filled with various people filling the lively atmosphere of the place.

She wasn’t even sure how long she spaced out since it was just recently where she became aware of the sensations she was feeling. She began to open her mouth to come up with a reply, but suddenly her eyes were pooled with tears and her vision instantly became blurry.

Monica brought her to the nearest booth by the window and sat across from her with a worried expression. Raquel had a sullen look on her face, which must have meant that things did not go well. She then grabbed the stainless tissue holder which was close to her and handed it over to the brunette.

“He doesn’t remember me, Mon. But I’m a hundred percent sure it’s him. He was wearing the watch. His favorite watch, the one from his father.” Raquel managed to say between wiping the tears that were falling endlessly from her weary eyes.

She nodded as she was perfectly familiar with what her friend was talking about. Sergio never let go of that antique watch of his.

“And the entire time, I was so aloof. It was horrible, there’s no way I’d be getting that job now. But you know what, I guess you and Alicia are both right. I just have to let this go.” Raquel forced a chuckle but Monica’s expression did not match hers. Instead, she reached out her hand to hers and squeezed in an attempt to give her some comfort.

“What was I thinking?” she began to run her hands through the long strands of her hair in exasperation.

“Raquel, it’s okay. Everything will be okay.”

“It was a mistake, Mon. I never should have let my stupid emotions guide me.”

“Oh shit.” Raquel suddenly exclaimed which made her friend look at her in surprise.

“What is it?”

“He doesn’t remember me but he’s still wearing _his_ watch. He is still Sergio, but for some reason he changed his name. What if he’s had a terrible accident in the past that messed up his memories?” she said quietly in her seat, her eyebrows meeting together.

“That does give me chills, Raquel. Because if Sergio is alive, then whose _body_ was that?”

Monica's question brought her back to twelve years ago when she found herself standing lifelessly across the incident site. She had not seen his body as it had been badly burnt and injured from whatever happened. After numerous investigations, nobody could even decipher the happenings of that night due to lack of evidence. Whoever did this surely knew how to cover their tracks.

Her chest began to tighten as she had not even been given the chance to say goodbye or tell him once again how much she loved him.

She merely shrugged as she wondered that if she couldn’t get answers out of Sergio, then who could she get them from?

…

Munching on his ham and cheese sandwich, Sergio took another look at the résumés that were spread out on his table. A lot, if not all of the applicants, seemed to be more than qualified for the job, but he considered narrowing down his options to three.

The first two already had some work experience in the similar field and then there was Raquel Murillo. Her previous work experience only included being a waitress and cashier at an unspecified restaurant, though he could see that she had a good education as she was a certified college graduate. Upon glancing at her 2x2 photo that was stapled at the upper right corner of her résumé, his mind shifted back to their encounter. Compared to the others, she did seem a little bit too uptight for the situation. He thought that perhaps this was her first time to try out a different job and didn’t want to mess up her only chance.

There was also something different in her gaze that he noted from the very moment she stepped into his office. Whether it was fear or determination, he sure noticed it the entire time.

She was dedicated, he could tell.

The other two sure did deserve the job more due to their outstanding qualifications but, there was just _something_ about her.

After a short internal debate regarding the matter, he decided that he wanted to give this Raquel Murillo a chance. He sensed it deep within that she really needed this for whatever personal reason she may have.

Just when he had made his decision, his phone began to ring. He looked at the caller ID and smiled, tapping on the answer button and bringing his phone to his ear.

“Hermanito! Are you done with the interviews?” Andrés chirped from the other side.

Sergio began to briefly tell him about his day and that everything went spectacularly well for someone who was a first time interviewer. He also disclosed that he already missed Andrés and wasn’t used to being apart from him for more than two days. This caused a hearty laugh from him as Sergio rolled his eyes, aware of the fact that showing even the slightest affection would just make Andrés cackle with amusement.

Andrés responded enthusiastically as always, as if he didn’t have a problem in the world, though Sergio’s expression began to change when he said something at the last minute.

“Wait, what?” He was a little annoyed because he could have been informed earlier but tried his best to hide it.

“I know it’s late but, she was personally handpicked by Arturo.” Andrés mumbled with a sympathetic tone. He knew how much Sergio despises her after what she did to him which was why he felt really sorry that he was going to have to endure this for at least two months.

Sergio let out a defeated sigh and relaxed his shoulders that tensed up the moment he heard that name slip out from Andrés’ lips. It hadn’t been long ever since the incident and it was also one of the reasons why he was looking forward to this job so much – to avoid seeing her. Fate was never on his side which was why he decided to no longer pursue personal relationships; they were a waste of time and effort.

“I guess I don’t really have a choice then,” he muttered while massaging the bridge of his nose with the pads of his fingers.

“I doubt she’d still get in your way, though she _is_ one hell of a crazy woman,” said Andrés as he chuckled lightly, attempting to lighten the mood. He remembers as though it had been yesterday where she was still a huge part of their lives.

Sergio released a tiny low laugh in response, remembering the way she screamed right in the middle of the lobby of the architectural firm, begging for Sergio to forgive her and take her back into his loving arms. But it was too late, he had already seen everything she was trying so desperately to hide from him and from everyone else. _She was a cheater and always will be,_ Sergio repeatedly said in attempt to ingrain this fact into his mind. He was utterly blinded by his love for her at that time that he didn’t even bother noticing the clear cut signs and he hated himself for it. He couldn’t believe he even asked for her hand in marriage. But as he thought about it, maybe he wasn’t so unlucky after all due to the fact that he got to break it up with her before they actually got married. 

He found his mind getting lost in that place again and chose to change the subject, asking about the rest of the team that he would be working with. Andrés quickly engaged in the topic, filling Sergio in with some details that he did not know yet regarding the building project.

He did not get to pay attention much though as his mind wandered once more to the volatilized memories of the woman he once thought he loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me what you think!:)


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